Control for string puppet



April 12, 1955 T. M. EVANS 2,705,850

CONTROL FOR STRING PUPPET Filed Feb. 20, 1953 INVENTOR, 7 /7 0/7? as M Evafls ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent CONTROL FOR STRING PUPPET Thomas M. Evans, East Providence, R. I.

Application February 20, 1953, Serial No. 338,007

7 Claims. (Cl. 46-126) This invention relates to a string puppet or marionette and particularly to the control for the manipulation of the strings of the puppet.

An object of the invention is to provide a control for the strings of a puppet which will be of simple construction and easily manipulated.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a control having arms to which the strings of the puppet may be attached and which arms will be mounted in such a manner as to permit rocking motions in various directions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a control which may be manufactured at a comparatively low cost and which will be durable in use.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective illustrating a string puppet with the controls therefor embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the control shown in Figure 1 with a closure plate omitted;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the body of the control shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan view of one of the arms of the control; and

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially along lines 55 of Figure 2.

In carrying out my invention, I provide for each string of the puppet to be individually moved independent of the other strings or in combination with other strings of the puppet. This I accomplish by means of arms which I rockably mount on a support in a manner to provide for a rocking motion in difierent planes or a combined motion in said planes. Thus, a limb of the puppet, by way of example a leg, may be swung forwardly or rearwardly by a similar motion of the arm of the control to which the string of the leg may be attached. The leg may be raised by an upward rocking or swinging of the arm of the control or a movement or gesture may be imparted to the leg by a combined movement of the said arm in difierent planes. Thus, each arm of the control is capable of imparting two separate gestures to each limb of the puppet or a combination of the said two gestures.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description of the invention, designates generally a control unit having a body 11 (see Figure 3) which is of generally rectangular shape having a reduced or stem portion 12 extending from one end of the body, which end may be referred to as the upper end. The body may be made of any suitable material such as metal or one of the synthetic plastic resins and is provided at opposite marginal edges with a plurality of recesses 13 which are circular and extend through the body from one side to the other. In the present disclosure there are two of such recesses 13 on two of the opposite sides of the body with the recesses on one side positioned in line with the recesses on the opposite side. Each recess has an opening thereto extending inwardly from the edge of the body and with the walls 1515 thereof converging inwardly toward the axial center of the recess, thus providing a restricted opening or mouth 16 to the inner circular portion of the recess. A similar recess 17 is provided in the-upper end portion of the stem 12. These recesses form bearings for mounting the ends of arms designated generally 18. The body 11 is also provided with spaced openings 19 at the lower edge portion thereof.

Each arm 18 is of the same shape and is provided with a shank portion 20 provided at one free end with a hook or eye formation 21 and at the other inner end with an enlargement or ball 22 which may be secured to the shank in any appropriate manner or may be made integral therewith depending upon the character of the material of the arm. The enlargement or ball 22 is received in the circular portion of the recess 13 and is of a diameter greater than the restricted opening 16 but less than the diameter of the recess so as to permit a free rocking motion of said arm in said recess. The shank 20 projects outwardly through the restricted opening 16 and normally rests through its own weight against the lower wall 15. These arms are provided in pairs of similar length with one arm of the pair mounted on one side of the body and the other arm of the pair mounted on the opposite side of the body so as to be symmetrical with each other. The pairs of arms are of different lengths, and preferably the longer pair of arms are positioned uppermost on the body. The arms may be manually rocked by the fingers of the operator in an obvious manner within the confines of the spacing of the walls 15-15'.

A hook or like member 23 has a shank 24, the end of which is also provided with an enlargement or ball 25 to likewise engage with the upper recess 17 and may be rocked therein.

The arms 18 and the hook 23 are held in place against lateral displacement by means of cover plates 26 which are of the general rectangular configuration of the body and are secured in place as by means of screw fastening 27 engaging a threaded opening 27' in the body. Referring to Figure 5, it will be seen that the thickness of the body is greater than the dimensions of the ball 22, and thus the ball may have rocking motion in various directions and also may be shifted laterally in said recess 13.

In the drawings I have shown as by way of example and in a conventional manner a dressed puppet or marionette designated generally 28, the limbs of which may be loosely jointed in any appropriate manner so as to provide relative movement between portions of said limbs and the body of the puppet as is usual in figures of this character. The strings 29 of the arms are preferably secured to the upper pair of arms 18, the strings 30 of the legs are secured to the lower of the said arms 18, and the strings of the head are attached to the body 11 as by means of the said openings 19. Thus, each string is separated from the other a sufficient distance so as to prevent interference one by the other in the manipulation thereof.

In operation the control 10 is hooked on to any suitable support such as a rod 27 whereby the control may he slid therealong as desired. This frees the hand of the operator to manipulate the arms 18 for pulling or manipulating the said strings either singly or in combination to provide the desired gestures in the puppet. This may be easily accomplished in any of various manners which may suggest themselves to the operator, as by way of example the fingers of the hand of the operator may be passed between the arms 18 and by raising or lowering the fingers, the particular arm 18 engaged thereby will be likewise raised to pull the particular string attached to the raised arm 18. The weight of the arm 18 and that of the limb to which the said arm may be connected will be sufiicient to return the moved arm 18 to the normal or inoperative position thereof upon release. It will be apparent that a particular limb of the puppet may be given a length of movement within the limits of the movement of the arm 18 between the limits of the walls 1515'. In turning the control unit 10 about the shank 24 of the hook, the head of the puppet, providing the same is swivelly attached to the body, may be turned from side to side, and by raising the puppet from the floor such as by a slight raising of the legs thereof, the weight of the body of the puppet on the neck joint will add sufiicient friction between the parts to. be sufiicient to provide for turning of the head and body as a unit and thus provide for an additional gesture to the puppet.

I have shown, merely as by way of example, a control having four arms 18. However, additional arms 18 may be provided for string puppets having more strings than that herein illustrated whereby further gestures may be imparted to the puppet.

I claim:

1. A control unit for a string puppet having movable elements comprising a body having a hook for suspending said body from a support, a plurality of manually operable arms projecting from opposite sides of said body, each of said arms being separately rockably mounted on said body with the arms on one side aligned with the arms on the other side, each of said arms having an eye at the free end thereof and a string attached at one end to each of said eyes, said strings being attached at the other ends thereof to said movable elements of said puppet whereby to transmit the movement of said arms to said elements upon movement of said arms, and means engageable by said arms for limiting the rocking of said arms.

2. A control unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said arms are ball jointed to said body.

3. A control unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body has circular recesses therein and each arm is of rigid material having a ball at one end thereof received in said recesses for mounting the arms on the body.

4. A control unit for a string puppet having movable elements comprising a body having a plurality of recesses in the opposite marginal edges thereof, each of said recesses having an opening extending inwardly from the adjacent edges of said body with the walls of said open- 4 ing converging toward said recess to provide a restricted opening therefor, and'an arm rockably mounted in each of said recesses and projecting outwardly through the said opening and a string attached at one end to each of said arms, said strings being attached at the other ends thereof to said movable elements of said puppet whereby to transmit the movement of said arms to the said elements of the puppet upon movement of said arms.

5. A control as set forth in claim 4 wherein each recess is circular and said arms have a ball end to be received in said recess.

6. A control as set forth in claim 4 wherein the arms are arranged in pairs of difierent lengths with one arm of one pair projecting from one side of said body and the other arm of the pair projecting from the other side of said body and symmetrical therewith.

7. A control as set forth in claim 4 wherein said body is solid with the recesses extending through said body, and plates are secured to said body to close said recess at opposite ends of the body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 810,900 Bartlett Jan. 30, 1906 2,448,234 Pandele Aug. 31, 1948 2,662,338 Baird Dec. 15, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 29,601 Great Britain -Q. A. D. 1910 

